Have a look at my new web site here... My Wildlife Wonders
2010 - PROOF the breeding season extends well into SEPTEMBER on the Slea shows that any row boats on the Slea during August (as is planned) would have serious consequences for the wildlife... The Dabchicks had 2 babies of which I believe only 1 survived, it was well into September when they HATCHED so any row boats on the Slea during August would have destroyed the nest/eggs and driven away the adults. The Slea is too narrow for boats and this kind of wildlife to coexist, the Slea is only a few feet wide in places especially near the reeds where the Dabchicks nest and breed.
It was Kingfisher Heaven on the Slea today… first we saw a Kingfisher, then we saw a Kingfisher, then we saw a Kingfisher, then we saw TWO Kingfishers and then we saw a Kingfisher AGAIN 
I was also told (but have no proof) that Baby Kingfishers have been seen recently on the Slea, the ones we saw today I believe were all Adult Kingfishers.
Another one from thearchives…
I saw the ‘first’ second brood of Moorhens on the Slea today near the Mill, it looks like only one of the first brood survived.
A Duck was minding its own business with 8-10 ducklings who were only a couple of days old, when 4-5-6 males set apon her, if they kill her, which is quite possible, then the ducklings are also doomed 
1/4 (or 25%) of all Female Mallards are killed (mostly drowned) each year by Male Mallards gang raping them I have said this before… if you believe in reincarnation and also get a choice of what to come back as, DO NOT say ‘Female Mallard’, they really do have a very tough time
The Coot is still around there are some ducklings that are getting quite big now, but we do not seem to have had as many Ducklings as previous years. Also still quite a few baby Moorhens up and down the river and at least 1 on the pond.
One from the archives…
I had good views of the Kingfisher today and I watched as he caught a fish…
…the Coot is still around and there are quite a few baby Moorhens up and down the Slea at the moment. I did also see what is probably the only surviving baby Moorhen from the first brood near the Mill, he is quite big now.
I saw 2 of these today…
…very fleeting glances but I think both sighting were of Watervoles One of them did something I have not seen before… it swan for a few yards actually under the water like a submarine, I have only seen them on the surface before.
Still a few baby Moorhens around but very difficult to count. I also saw one of these for the first time this year…
…Common Lizard so it was a good day all around
I had a great view of a Kingfisher today, I saw him dive and catch a little fish. No Coot today, I wonder if he will be back or not. I didnt see any baby Moorhens near the Mill today so I think most have perished but hope the one I saw the other day is still around. There were a couple of more families of Moorhens so they seem to be having a decent year.
I know some people dont like them, but look at those colours, how can anyone not like that…
The Coot is still around and is reasonably friendly for a Coot I only saw 1 of the baby Moorhens that are up near the Mill, not sure what has happened to the others. There were 2 more Moorhen families also today, one family has 6 babies but I dont know how many the other family had.
The winding hole is just about finished and sadly I heard today that they are having a ‘New Bridge and Winding Hole Celebration’ INCLUDING a boat for passenger trips – GUESS WHEN – yes thats right its right in the MIDDLE of the nesting season – unbelievable. Almost anywhere on this stretch of the Slea, and ESPECIALLY in the very narrow parts, a boat will be at best a few inches away from Moorhen nests that cannot be seen, the wash from a boat may well wash a nest or two away WHY WHY WHY can’t the ‘Celebration’ be at the END of the nesting season, from October onwards when the danger to the wildlife would be minimal
Terry
At last we had a Coot on the Slea yesterday, only 1 and not a pair but that can change
This is the last baby Coot that I know of on our stretch of the Slea….
…wonder if we will have any more this year ?
Terry
This happened in my garden yesterday (not on the Slea) but thought it interesting as I have never seen behavious like this before with a Blackbird…. I have had Mr & Mrs Blackbird in my garden for sometime, I also have a ‘single’ female Blackbird (I will call her Ms) visit which is normally chased away. I am unsure if Ms has lost a mate or not had one this year, but yesterday she came to my feeder and I heard and then saw a Blackbird chick on the fence, she went and fed it so initially I thought it was hers. Mr & Mrs then came and I know they have chicks, I really worried that Mr & Mrs would attack the chick on the fence as I thought it was Ms. Anyway Mrs then went and fed the chick and Ms flew away.
This is all guess work, but what I believe happened is that the chick is actually the chick of Mr & Mrs, but Ms probably has hormones that tell her she should be raising a family, but she has no mate, so she feeds any other Blackbird chick she finds. Total guess but it seems to fit the circumstances and something I have never seen before
Blackbird chick being fed in my garden a couple of years ago…
Terry
It took a while to see all 7 baby Moorhens but they have all survived so far They were too near to the weir for my liking as I have seen them go over there in previous years, normally any babies that go over the weir probably will not survive but there are exceptions…
…click…HERE… and scroll down to Fri Aug 04, 2006 for the full story but here are the pictures…
Terry
Allan rang to tell me there were 7 baby Moorhens on the Slea, these are the first ones this year that we have seen. So I nipped down and saw all 7 but couldn’t get a picture of all of them so this is a close-up of one of them…
Terry
It will soon be time for our ‘newcomer’ white duck to come along with ducklings if she is still around, but nobody knows if she is nesting somewhere or has flown, we don’t really know if ‘she’ is a she or not, all we know is that we have not seen her for sometime, but if she doesn’t appear in the next week or so I think we can assume she has flown. Her ‘mate’ is still seen daily.
I did see a quite tame Female Pheasant which is the first I have ever got really close to, but there was not much else around this morning.
There are a few of these around now…
.. but this picture is from the archives. Also most of the Moorhens seem to be near to nesting.
Terry
I saw a little Knome on a scooter today….
… its actually Allan Ho Ho, as you can see it was a bit wet.
I did see a Kingfisher going down the Old Slea and then two Kinfishers going upstream from the Mill A few more Ducklings are also about.
I have also seen about 4 different Mallards with damage to their wings, they will never fly again and will be more susceptible to an attack by a dog because they cannot get away very quickly, so I do not expect them to last very long……. now how did this damage come about, well the MOST likely cause of this damage is by a DOG in the first place, but its not the dogs fault its the OWNERS fault, they should have their dog(s) UNDER CONTROL at ALL times, I just wish anyone who has a dog out of control near wildlife would get prosecuted. Now I am ex-dog owner and a dog LOVER so I am not biased in thinking that dogs are probably responsible, I base my beliefs on experience as I have actually witnessed ducklings killed and ducks attacked by dogs on this stretch of the Slea because of irresponsible owners. Most dog owners are quite reasonable but I think just a few need to change their ways for the sake of the wildlife – they only have 1 life like the rest of us and it can be cut short so easily just because an owner does not (or cannot be bothered) to keep their dog under control.
Terry